So here we are at Day Five of my studio re-org, clean-up, and tour. This is the last section of my studio to share, because this is my most often-used workspace, and consequently, the messiest. Before I started tidying up, it looked like THIS: Now, it’s usually not THIS bad, but yes…usually it is messy. Boxes of product on the floor, project leftovers in trays, and little bowls of loose gew-gaws on the table. Anyway, as I was cleaning up […]
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Crafting Spaces for Spaces to Craft, Part Four
Today’s focus is on my multi-purpose area- my sewing/paper-trimming/die cutting area. It’s only a small peninsula, but it gets a lot of play. It’s actually a “return”- a table that sticks out from a computer desk that used to be in my husband’s office. The file cabinet underneath was part of that set, too. Now it’s nestled between two folding tables! The moral of today’s story is don’t be afraid to repurpose furniture- the rest of the office desk got […]
Crafting Spaces for Spaces to Craft, Part Three
Ok, so today’s installment of my studio tour and organization is really more about thinking outside of the box and my dumb luck. I am blessed with not one, but TWO card catalogs. You know me and labels…I have all these drawers labeled and chock-full o’ crafty goodness. Glues, embossing powders, sewing notions, tools….heck I even have a drawer for Velcro! True, the drawers are small, but really deep so that you can cram a lot into the space. […]
Crafting Spaces for Spaces to Craft, Part Two
Today I’m sharing another section of my crafting studio- the infamous CLOSET! As I’ve mentioned before, my main workspace is in what was once a guest room on the third floor. This rockin’ closet was already there, just waiting to be filled with crafting goodies! Because the closet is on the opposite wall of the crafting tables/workstations, I keep things in here that need to be accessible but not “handy,” if you know what I mean. On the left, there […]
Crafting Spaces for Spaces to Craft, Part One
I have my own space to craft- it’s the third floor of our house and is primarily in what used to be a guest bedroom. There is a full bathroom up there, too- so most of the time I have a place to wash out brushes, hand dyed fabric to dry, and wet-sand polymer clay beads without messing up the rest of the house. I thought I’d share one part of my studio today- my Polymer Clay desk. This is […]
Craft Product Review: Fuse Creativity System by Fiskars
Just when you think there are no more innovations to manual die cut machines (Bigger sizes? Check. Electric Motors? Check.) Fiskars comes out with the Fuse Creativity System– which is able to die cut and letterpress in one pass. WHOA, NELLY! So there is a LOT of ground to cover here- and I warn ya, you might want grab a cuppa joe. There are a lot of photos in this post AND a 15-minute video, so settle in. : ) […]
Craft Product Review: Brother 1034D 3-4 Lay-in Thread Serger
I had never used a serger (overlock machine) before I got my Brother 1034D, but I knew that I needed one if I wanted to sew knits and stretch fabrics (among a million other things) well. So, after being deterred for months by stories of fashion students taking leave of their senses at the mere mention of threading one, I took the plunge and selected a color-coded 4-thread model. I am happy to report that, not only did I not […]
Craft Product Review: Slice Elite by Making Memories
For as much as I use my Slice, I can’t for the life of me figure out why I never did a review on it. I discovered it at CHA Summer 2010, and even and a quick-as-a-wink spot in an infomercial they shot there with Terri O as the host. Now, though, there is a new-and-improved version of the Slice- the Slice Elite– and I figured that I should give it a thorough going-over, and let you all know how […]
New Years’ Craft Resolution Recap: Checking in on 2010
Last year I composed a series of three posts to flesh out my resolutions for 2010- to clean out my studio with charitable intentions, to branch out and cross-pollinate, and to use a word prompt. I th0ught before I committed to making NEW New Year’s Crafty Resolutions, should see how I lived up to last year, right? On Charitable Intentions: Actually, I’m way ahead of the came on this one! I spent all last week on Crafting Spaces for Spaces […]
Kid’s Craft: Nature Prints with Solar Print Paper
Here at the Casa of Crafts we are trying to squeeze as much out of the rest of summer as we can; and while the sun is still shining brightly, we thought we’d try out some Solar Print paper as a fun science/nature craft. This quasi-educational project can be done over a few different stages, too. We started off by exploring our new yard and collecting leaves, stems, and flowers, and then trying to identify them all. We then pressed […]
Studio Update: Spring Cleaning 2014 Part 1
You know, the life of a craft product reviewer and blogger is busy- and messy- one. New products coming in, packaging things up for our #TeamCTD reviewers, tutorials in process, and then piles and piles of things that need to be put away or discarded. I took the bull by the horns and had a crafty yard sale last week. It felt great to thin out my shelves and sell off extra machines, tools, paper and kits. But then I […]
Pantone Color of the Year 2014: Radiant Orchid
Last month I speculated about the Pantone Color of the Year for 2014- a bloggy insider had basically assured us that it would be blue. HA! Not so, my lovelies! Instead, the Color of the Year is Radiant Orchid! Mmmmm. I think I like it. There is a bit of pink and just a hint of grey in it…which almost makes it a neutral. Would you like to read the press release I got? “While the 2013 color of the […]
Fiskars Amplify Mixed Media Shears
There is nothing like being in the middle of creating a mixed media project and not being able to find scissors sturdy enough or sharp enough to cut through the material you are working with. Second worst is managing to cut through the material only to have jagged edges that need cleaning up, because it’s almost impossible to make that edge look clean. Allow me to introduce you to Fiskars Amplify Mixed Media Shears. Here […]
Westcott Scissors ExtremEdge Titanium Adjustable Scissors Review
When I was first given these Westcott ExtremEdge Adjustable Tension Titanium Bonded scissors, I thought they looked like they would work well as a pair of general crafting scissors. Here is what the Westcott website says about these scissors: Our best performance scissors! ExtremEdge Titanium® Bent Scissors. Titanium Bonded® Blades are used for improved durability, increased corrosion resistance and a sharper, longer-lasting cutting edge. * Lightweight yet durable * Cuts multiple layers of fabric or a few layers of […]
Hostess Gift Idea: Monogrammed Coasters
‘Tis the season for holiday parties- and no one wants to arrive empty-handed. Instead of showing up with a bottle of wine, how about hand-crafting a set of Monogrammed coasters for a hostess gift? These also work well for a gift exchange- just substitute a snowflake or tree design for the initials. You’ll need: 4-inch scalloped-edged mirrors (I got mine from ConsumerCrafts.com) Adhesive vinyl Cricut machine & font cartridge of choice (I used Storybook) Armor Etching cream Start off by […]
